Be, the Creator.

In the beginning was the Word, and the word was… Everything.

Not the word “Everything”. But literally every single thing.

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I am an artist of many mediums. I create things with my hands, I create things with my mind, I create things with my voice. I create. It’s what I do. It’s part of what I need to be doing regularly to feel fulfilled.

My ability to create is in no way unique. I believe every human has access to the knowledge and power that has unlocked my creative abilities. It is within each of us to create. Even if we don’t realize it, we do it daily simply by living. The words we say, the actions we take, the thoughts we have, the decisions we make, they are all our personal creations– all contributing to the masterpiece of art which is you Life.

As a creator, I am obsessed with the questions of creation. How is it done? How do others do it? How do I do it in different mediums? How was everything created? Who created everything–if there is a being responsible, etc.

As a philosophical thinker, I find it hard to find evidence. In one of his lectures, Alan Watts says, “We’ve got to examine ideas that are basic to our common sense… Psychoanalysis has, of course, examined the emotional basis of human opinions and beliefs, but one should also examine the intellectual basis of psychological principals, or theories or therapies.” Scientific evidence is only worthy within the paradigm of materialism. Religious evidence is only worthy within the paradigm of Theology. Each bit of hard evidence within a field is subjected to the boundaries of that field. For that reason, I use human minds, thoughts, actions, etc. as my most assured bits of evidence in the universe.

I consider the thought behind all individuals’ creations to be relevant. I am not religious, but I do find religious texts to be some very interesting and relevant literature. They are full of some old time idiocy, but also some truly brilliant wisdom. Not to mention, they too are obsessed with the idea of creation. (This is not to say that science, thought to be the opposition of religion by most, is not also obsessed with creation. I just think the random miracle of the Big Bang just happening doesn’t actually explain the entire picture.)

When it comes to this evidence, Language is so interesting. I, sadly, do not have an extensive knowledge of other languages, but what I have studied of them I find fascinating. Languages can tell you so much about the values and beliefs of the Peoples to which they belong. American English, particular to the Southern California region, is my vernacular. However, even this relatively new language in a relatively new country (when considering the known history of humans, life on earth, and the universe), holds within it innumerable clues about our beliefs as humans, beings and the universe.

As an example of this, I would like to focus on is our self-identifier– Human Being.

It’s interesting that the word we use to describe ourselves, individually and as a species, is “Being”–an action word. It is not only an action word, but it contains a gerund and a context which, according to our grammar, means it is in the present tense. So as a species, when speaking in English, we chose to identify as a present-tense verb. We call it a proper noun– Human Being. But really, when you break it down, totally verb– Human, being.

But it isn’t just any old verb. We aren’t Human Runnings or Human Doings. We are Human Beings. We are Humans– being! Our verb is active. It is present. But it is not necessarily in motion, nor is it still. It is a content verb, whose root is to Be. To Be is such a powerful thing. To Be is to Live, in this moment.

So when we defined ourselves as Human Beings, we acknowledged our existence.

Most people also use the word “Being” to describe non-human existence. This is not something we generally agree upon. Different people will use this word for different existences. I, personally, use it do describe every living thing in the universe. I am sure I’m not the only one to do this. Some people call only other animals Beings. Some think of non-Earth life forms as Alien Beings. Our ability to recognize not only that we are in this state of present existence, but that other things are also in this state of existence, is incredible. Our language shows that not only are we living, existing creatures, but other creatures are too! Now that is empowering.

I really do believe that words are powerful, perhaps the most powerful tool of creation we humans have in today’s society. Words create intention, even when we don’t mean for them to do so. Words plant seeds of thought. The mind makes the perfect soil for these seeds. Especially when not being consciously observed, the inhabited mind will run rampant with with the seed of an idea. Anyone who has spent hours lying in bed worrying instead of sleeping knows that to be true.

Coincidentally, because words have this incredible power over the mind, and the mind is an incredibly powerful and brilliant thing, words have incredible power.

Words can motivate great waves of change among hoards of people. Words can do deep harm to those caught in their cross hare. Words can empower and engage. Words have a world of their own.

In that world, we are their creator. We created the languages. We use words, in the form of language, to express ourselves, to communicate, to think. But also, words have taken on a life of their own! Their multiple meanings and connotations and intentions and uses. Perhaps we gave them those things, but the words themselves possess life! As their creators, however, we can see them as nothing more than an extension and a reflection of ourselves, our beliefs, our experiences, and our perception of reality. And logically, materialistically, thats all they are.

But they’re a powerful part of us. So when we use a word like “being” to describe ourselves, we are making a very powerful proclamation. We are planting the seed of the idea of existence in the mind. To call all living things “Beings” is, in some way, to create our awareness of existence. This isn’t to say that we did not exist before language. Rather, the idea is that by stating our intention, and having that intention be “existence,” we are awakening to a higher level of understanding, awareness, and consciousness. We go beyond just existing, to realizing we exist. As simple as this may be, to a human who has not yet solved or completed their own existential crisis, this realization could be life altering.

So let’s go back to the beginning–of this post and “time”.

In the bible, the word is not described as everything. In the bible, the word is God. But to me, these are the same things. Everything and everyone is “God”– in the most general meaning of the word. Even if one believes that there is a God and we are made in his or her image, that means we are made to be little creators.

We all have the power to create, and we do it every single day. We do it with the words we say, the thoughts we have, the intentions we give. We create, at the very least, our slew of sentences throughout the day which either reflect our inner feelings, beliefs, thoughts and desires, or empower us to change our inner feelings, beliefs, thoughts and desires. At the very most, we create our lives and everything in them.

Back to being Beings.

Discovering the nature of the words we use can reveal how those words are serving us. Like the example given earlier, “Beings” has the unconscious ability to empower us to notice our existence. Similarly, when we are feeling less than ourselves, feeling inadequate, feeling ill equipped to deal or cope with ourselves or our lives, we can intentionally use our words to change our beliefs and therefore change our lives! We can use individual words with different intentions, contexts, and expressions to set intentions for our inner selves that are beyond the unconscious regurgitation of someone else’s meaning for that word. We can change our mind to think more positively, more meaningfully– more mindfully.

By consciously using our language, we can create a better life for ourselves, and hopefully, a better world.

If this topic of words, beliefs and creation is interesting to you, check out Alan Watts’ lecture on the Fractal Universe! His examination of words at the beginning is truly brilliant.